Wertsteigerung: Was Sie heute sammeln sollten, um später daran zu verdienen

In 2023, a first-generation iPhone sold for $190,000, a record price for an unopened original packaging phone. Released in 2007, the original iPhone cost $499 in the US. Its value has soared by around 380 times since then. The rare version had only four gigabytes, while the more popular eight-gigabyte version sold for $63,656 at an auction a few months before the record-breaking sale three years ago.

This trend is not unique to iPhones; other tech gadgets, toys, collectible cards, and comics have transformed from everyday items into coveted collector's items over the years. People who bought certain products decades ago and kept them unopened in their basements can now earn a significant amount of money. So, what sets apart products that went from inexpensive to worth thousands or even millions today?

What makes them desirable, and can we predict which everyday items might become collector's items in a few years? How do collector's markets form? Jacco Scheper, who has been fascinated by collecting since childhood, is the managing director of Heritage Auctions Europe, a part of the Heritage Auctions group. Five years ago, the company auctioned an unopened "Super Mario 64" game from Nintendo for $1.56 million.

In 1996, the game cost between $60 and $70 in Japan and the US, when it first came out. "Video games were never expensive back then," Scheper says. "Everyone had one." With nearly twelve million worldwide sales, "Super Mario 64" is one of Nintendo's bestsellers. So, why does a single copy sell for $1.56 million at auction? "The main difference is that the game is still sealed in its original cartridge," Scheper explains.

Unlike most buyers, the owner hadn't opened the game after purchasing it 30 years ago to use it. "Games sealed in original packaging and still sealed are very rare." For collector's items like an old iPhone, it's crucial that no accessories are missing. "